Greatwater Lake Let your colors bleed and blend with mine

For @Eske <3

Nara had descended from the great mountain that was the Sunspire once again to hunt in the area. Spring was here and she wasn't the only one who had noticed. Recently, small creatures had left their burrows to soak up the sun and more newborn plants had sprouted through the warming soil. With a gingerly step, Nara made sure she didn't accidentally crush them and end their life so soon. There were more birds around too and every day they became noisier. Nara was not a fan of birds. They were obnoxious and not at all easy to eat with all the feathers and whatnot. She preferred small rodents and leporidae, so those were what she was on the lookout for. 

Nara had started her travel early in the morning and by the time she had reached the grand lake at the foot of the mountain, the sun was already high in the sky. The weather was actually very pleasant that day, and she decided to lay herself down on a rock at the side of the lake. It had been heated in the sun and the warmth felt like a cozy den, it made her drowzy. She closed her eyes and let the peace and quiet lull her to sleep. She wasn't that hungry anyway.

eske no longer took note of the collar around her neck. she'd been sporting it for a month now and after the initial fear and shock had worn off — and multiple but failed attempts to remove it from her person — she'd came to tentatively trust that it wasn't going to hurt her or anyone else. thus, she was able to put her mind to more important matters at hand and drageda and brewing tensions between the pack next door to drakru was certainly more deserving of her attention. wanlida ventured out of drageda's claimed territory and took to the heartland of the wilds. she isn't necessarily looking for anything in particular and she isn't really traveling to sate wanderlust. she'd always been a homebody and that had inspired her frequent trips outside of dragoncrest cliffs.

eske's lived in teekon for her whole life and at almost two there was still much of it she left unexplored for no reason other than she'd had a severe lack of interest in anything aside from drageda. eske follows the snaking rivers that all feed into the giant lake she nears, her pace slowing as she catches the scent of a pack wolf nearby. eske's never been known to be a social butterfly but as she drew nearer realized that it was too late to adjust her course.

the other woman was lounged upon a rock beneath the rays of the sun and eske, unsure if she was asleep or not, let out a low chuff to announce her presence in the hopes of avoiding startling the other and so eske could be on her way.

A low noise dragged Nara from her dreams. She quickly opened her eyes and realized that she must have fallen into a deep sleep. Not yet alarmed, she turned her head around to see where the noise came from - simultaneously, the wind blew to her the scent of another wolf, and not one she knew. 

A woman with a brown, agouti colored pelt was standing to her right. She hadn't expected the other wolf to be so near and she almost toppled over the edge of the rock. She quickly recaptured her balance. Uh hello, Nara said, her voice still sounded a little sleepy, didn't see you there. She jumped off the rock rather ungracefully, her legs felt like she hadn't used them for a year. 

Although Nara wasn't one to be particularly mistrustful of unknown wolves, she kept her distance. She was nowhere near the Sunspire and that made her feel vulnerable, although, this woman didn't look like she was going to attack Nara before she could introduce herself. I'm Nara, she said, and who are you?.

wanlida lifts her chin at the pallid woman's gangly jerk of surprise that had almost thrown her off the other side of the rock she lounged atop. eske swallows the snicker and laugh that she feels bubbling in her throat. it becomes evident to the warrior that the other woman had been asleep, she hears it in the drowsy tones that cling to the stranger's vocal chords as the last vestiges of sleep are wont to do. "hei," eske greets her back in trigedasleng, assuming that the words are similar enough that she will not need to translate into common tongue for her pale and sleepy companion.

eske's never been one to invade personal space, especially that of a stranger, and she is perfectly content with the distance that lingers between the two of them. it is comfortable but leaves plenty of room for a quick escape for either woman ...just in case. "eske." wanlida offers her own name in return with a curious tilt of her head. the pale woman smells of a pack — albeit not one that eske knows and she makes a mental note to inform heda upon her return that another new pack has cropped up in the wilds — and eske finds it curious that she's fallen asleep outside of the safety of her territory ...which eske assumes is not anywhere directly close by. at least, she has yet to come across pack borders of whose scent this woman carries. "it's not safe to sleep out in the open like that." eske offers, trying not to sound patronizing. her 'advice' (if one could even call it that) had not asked for, after all.

The brown colored wolf introduced herself. She sounded like she wasn't from anywhere Nara knew. Maybe she is a wanderer, Nara thought to herself, but immediately dismissed that thought when she smelled the scent of other wolves. Nara tilted her nose up discreetly, trying to locate the scent of her pack-mates. They didn't seem close-by. Not that there was a reason for alarm. Yet.

She might have taken the words of Eske as an intimidation, had the woman sounded more threatening. For some reason, Nara didn't think this wolf had bad intentions. I'll keep that in mind she said. I'm glad then that it was you who found me sleeping, and not someone who was feeling particularly murderous today she added with a grin. 

eske's gaze lingers, for a moment too long perhaps, upon the pale woman's eyes, drawn in by the vivid green of her irises. eske's never been one to pay much attention to appearances — with the exception of the male she met a few days ago ( caw ) — after kendra died those things had ceased to matter. attraction ...love they were only distractions from her goal; and while eske is happy with the title of wanlida her ambitions have not yet reached their fruition. it is in her nature to want to challenge herself, to want more. she likes the other woman's eyes and that is one of those moments that coming to that realization startles her a little bit, yet she does not afford it much thought.

"right," eske murmurs, diverting her gaze to scope the landscape around them. she has been a mercenary ... a guardian for far too long and those habits instilled into her are hard to shake. she is exposed outside of drageda's borders and it always sets her a little bit on edge. "there are plenty of those types around." eske states, taking on a slightly grim undertone. "i know of one pack whose wolves you are better off avoiding but it would seem that there are new packs that i'm not yet aware of." eske speaks bluntly, referring to nara's own. she recognizes none of the scents the other woman carries upon her pelage. "what pack are you from? i don't recognize it." eske inquires candidly, thinking after the fact that it might not have hurt to have implored a little bit more tact.

I'm from Sunspire Nara answered proudly. Although a moment later she wondered if she should have disclosed this information with a stranger. Then she decided that she had no reason to distrust Eske. We're a new pack - we've just settled and she nodded towards the highest peak at mountain range behind them. Clouds hung around her summit like a dilute halo and the everlasting snow reflected the bright orange light from the evening sun. It was too far away for the eye to see, but she imagined where one of the cliffs could be. It was one that had a view of the grand lake that she was at now. Nara wondered if someone was up there, looking down at her without knowing it.

She turned back to Eske. It was only now, in the warm glow of the evening sun, that she realized how pretty Eske's fur was. Her eyes too. A blue-green like the sea. Not that Nara had ever seen the sea, but this was how she imagined it would look like. I know the other packs nearby, but I have a feeling that you're not from one of them she said. She wanted to know what a pack-wolf was doing so far away from her home. 

nara's answer carries with it an amount of discernible pride. sunspire. eske's heard the territory name, perhaps even ventured through/near it when she left drageda on official business but never associated a pack with it. new, then, just as she'd initially assumed, confirmed by nara's following words. according to her, they'd just settled. eske spares a glimpse over her shoulder to look towards where nara gestures. it's too far away from them, possibly even for eske to see, but she knows it's rough location and in her general opinion: you've seen one mountain, you've seen them all. "who leads it?" eske inquires, wondering if she would recognize the names of it's leaders or not, despite that it was more than likely that she wouldn't recognize them. she's not known for being a social butterfly and her knowledge of who exists outside of drageda is limited.

"no," eske both confirms and muses with a quirk of her lips into something of a wily smile, despite that nara had made more of a statement and less of a question. "i come from the coast. drageda is the name of my home." it is eske's turn to gesture in the general direction of her home with a sharp movement of her muzzle in dragoncrest cliff's direction. "we have been around for some time. longer than i've been alive." and she is nearing her two year mark.

Sorry for the wait!

The alphas are Rannoch Frostfur, and his mate Liffey she answered. Nara wondered if Eske might know them.

Although she had never heard of Drageda, Nara was excited to know that Eske came from the coast. She had never seen the sea - this grand lake was the closest she had come to anything like it. What's it like? Living so close to the sea? she asked, ears forward and eyes bright. She could imagine that it was very different from her own mountain home.

nara offers eske the names of her alphas at the wanlida's behest but the names she's given do not bring with them recognition. eske's tail gives a contemplative flick behind her as she tucks that tidbit of information away. she isn't sure what to think about the congestion that is forming as all these new packs pop up. when spring comes in full and the herds begin to return eske can't help but think that the tensions will run high due to rivalry and competition for hunting grounds. they are far enough removed from drageda that she isn't overly worried — and besides drageda does have the unwanted growth of next door neighbors and thus more pressing concerns regardless. still, heda might be able to make some use of the information. "i've never heard of them." eske muses aloud in a contemplative hum, mostly for nara's benefit. eske doesn't want the pallid beauty to think that her information went ignored.

nara's eyes were bright as she asked what it was like living near the sea and for a moment eske is disarmed. her ears flutter back and she diverts her gaze for a moment feeling a heat creep up her neck and into her cheeks. abruptly, wanlida wishes that she has the ability to spin words poetically. she doesn't. she is brash and cutting. words and their manipulation had always been freyja's forte; and the truth was eske never really thought about it. the sea is just ...there and while there are moments: like when the sun sets upon the calm ocean and it paints the water in fire or when a storm rages out at sea that eske appreciates it's wild and untamed beauty. but at the end of the day it is simply where drageda is. drageda is her home and it matters not to her where they are only that drakru is still there.

"i never really thought about it," eske admits. "for me, it doesn't matter where drakru resides." it could be a barren desert or an oasis and eske wouldn't care either way. "you could visit," eske suggests suddenly, drawing her tongue over her jowls once before she offers nara an coquettish smile. "i could show you all our best views." wanlida invites as casually as she can manage.

Eske told Nara that she didn't know her leaders, but it made sense, since she came from the coast. She wondered how different Eske's home would be from hers. What were her Alphas like? Or maybe they had a different hierarchical system? Nara watched her expectantly and for a moment she thought Eske looked a bit flustered. It was actually kind of cute. And now Nara was the one who had to avert her eyes. 

The she-wolf's answer wasn't what Nara had expected, but maybe this image she had created in her mind about the sea was too beautiful to be real. Although she could sympathize with Eske's views about her pack - Nara too, would follow Sunspire anywhere. But before she could say anything in return, Eske invited her to visit. She wanted to say yes! without missing a beat, but instead her home, the highest peak in the mountain range, called to her in her mind. Nara was torn. With all the dangers that had been lurking around Sunspire lately, she felt that she had to stay out of a sense of duty - but she also really wanted to go with Eske too. She glanced once more at the mountains in the distance and then made her decision. I will have to let @Rannoch know first, but yes, I'd love to come and visit Drageda Nara answered with a smile, hardly able to suppress her joy.